Wabash Blues (string quartet)

Title: Wabash Blues

Composer: Fred Meinken, arr. David Gable

Instrumentation: Violin 1; Violin 2; Viola; Cello

Printout: 8 paged

Note: Wabash Blues is one of those “pining for home” songs, and it has something fun for every member of the quartet. The original voicing is such that the primary melody of the refrain lies best in the viola, and there are jazzy interjections throughout in all parts. One of these sounds a lot like a passage in Rhapsody in Blue, but if anyone borrowed material it would have been Gershwin, who was only five years old when Wabash Blues was published. This piece is a great addition to any string player’s music library.